Song et al. (2026) The Construction and Validation of a Distributed Xin’anjiang Model for Hilly Areas Considering Non-Steady-State Evaporation

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Identification

• Journal: Water
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-04-01
• Authors: Qifeng Song, Xi Chen, Zhicai Zhang
• DOI: 10.3390/w18070845

Research Groups

Not specified in the provided text.

Short Summary

This paper develops a new distributed Xin’anjiang model for hilly areas, incorporating non-steady-state evaporation and a semi-analytical solution of the Richards equation for soil water deficit, demonstrating superior performance in simulating soil moisture content compared to existing models.

Objective

• To develop and evaluate a new distributed Xin’anjiang model for hilly areas that accurately simulates soil moisture content by considering non-steady-state evaporation and unsaturated zone hydrodynamics.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Catchment scale (e.g., Tarrawarra catchment).
• Temporal Scale: Continuous simulation of soil moisture dynamics.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: New distributed Xin’anjiang model (developed in this paper), one-dimensional Richards equation, storage capacity model (for comparison), DHSVM model (for comparison).
• Data sources: Not explicitly specified, but implies topographic index data and actual/phreatic evaporation boundary fluxes.

Main Results

• A new distributed Xin’anjiang model was developed for hilly areas, incorporating non-steady-state evaporation and a semi-analytical solution of the Richards equation for soil water deficit.
• The new model demonstrated significantly better performance in simulating soil moisture content in the Tarrawarra catchment compared to the storage capacity model and the DHSVM model.

Contributions

• Development of a novel distributed Xin’anjiang model specifically designed for hilly areas, integrating non-steady-state evaporation and unsaturated zone hydrodynamics.
• Improved accuracy in soil moisture content simulation compared to established models (storage capacity model, DHSVM model).
• Incorporation of physical mechanisms, computational efficiency (semi-analytical solution), and accuracy in the new model design.

Funding

Not specified in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Song2026Construction,
  author = {Song, Qifeng and Chen, Xi and Zhang, Zhicai},
  title = {The Construction and Validation of a Distributed Xin’anjiang Model for Hilly Areas Considering Non-Steady-State Evaporation},
  journal = {Water},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.3390/w18070845},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.3390/w18070845}
}